Councilman Liu simply cannot understand financial statements. He is, in essence, suggesting that the MTA sell its bridges, tunnels, subways, buses and trains, to raise $4.4 billion in cash. But New Yorkers would not have a mass transit system.

The MTA reported a cash surplus of $78 million in 2001, or 1% of its annual $7.2 billion budget. This has been in the record for months.